Inconsistent. Slow start. Disappointing. We’ve heard all of these words and more to describe the Knicks’ season so far. But after Wednesday’s Christmas Day thriller, they are 20-10, having managed to go 9-2 in December and are in the midst of a five-game winning streak that leaves them just two games behind defending champion Boston Celtics leave for second place in the conference.

Tonight they will look to continue their winning streak and extend their aforementioned winning streak against the Magic, who the Knicks have seemingly played games against for two straight years this season. Even crazier than the fact that this is the third meeting between these two teams in the last three and a half weeks is the fact that the Knicks will be playing the third different edition of this team in that span.

When these two teams met for the first time on December 3rd, the Magic were already without Paolo Banchero, who had suffered an oblique tear. But they still had Franz Wagner, who was in the midst of his breakout season, and he gave the Knicks everything they could, going for 30 points and six assists. Unfortunately, just four days after that game, Wagner was diagnosed with the exact same injury that sidelined Banchero. When these teams played again on the 15th, Orlando played without one of their two best players. In their absence, Moe Wagner, Franz’s older brother, stepped up and scored a career-high 32 points on 10-15 field throws. Just a week after that game, Wagner suffered a non-contact knee injury that was later determined to be a torn ACL.

With Banchero and both Wagners sidelined, the Magic are as underpaid as any team in the league, but have consistently put in great effort – a credit to head coach Jamahl Mosley and their young players who have helped. They won the game against Miami in which the elder Wagner went down. Then they beat the Celtics in Boston by four points and narrowly lost to the Heat by one last night. And Rob Perez, in tweet The image below explains so perfectly why the Magic are so fun to cheer for, but also annoying to play against. Regardless of who is playing and who they are missing, the Magic do two things consistently. They defend at an extremely high level. And they try harder than you.

With Orlando putting up a valiant effort every night, New York, despite being the heavy favorites tonight, will have a tough task ahead of them.

Planned starters

Jalen Suggs, who is 1.95 meters tall, will start as the de facto point guard. Suggs is averaging a career-high 16.5 PPG this season, but is shooting just 40.8% from the field and 30.1% from three. And he recently has games with 32 and 29 points against the Bucks and Heat, but also games with just nine points in consecutive games against the Knicks and Thunder. While he will likely continue to be inconsistent while being tasked with a heavy offensive load while the Magic cope without Banchero and Wagner, his main job tonight will be keeping Jalen Brunson in check. Suggs remains one of the best fullbacks in the league, but Brunson has actually had success against him this season. averaging 26 PPG and 4.5 APG while shooting 48% from the field in two games.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will start alongside Suggs in the backcourt. The pair are the only players on the team has played in over 25 games this season and was in the starting line-up. Pope was brought in to be the floor defender that the Magic have desperately needed in recent years, but this season he has been anything but that. Shoot a career-low 30.2% from three and an eight-year-low 40.3% from the field. However, he is still a solid defender and scored 24 points against the Heat just six days ago.

His third start will likely be Trevelin Queen. The 27-year-old, who is in his third season in the league, is a bit of an unknown commodity, but he was coming off a 17-point outburst against the Celtics just two games ago. He’s also been incredibly active on defense, recording eight steals in the three games since being added to the rotation.

The outstanding rookie Tristan da Silva starts as power forward. The 23-year-old from Colorado is averaging just 8.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.5 APG this season, but has seen a significant increase in minutes lately, and he has rewarded the Magic with outstanding play. He has been in his last five games averaging 15.8 PPG while shooting 58.3% from the field and 37% from three on 5.4 attempts per game. And Knicks fans may remember that in their last meeting he scored a career-high 20 points.

Taking over center field will be Goga Bitadze, a name that became very familiar to Knicks fans in the offseason due to New York’s reported interest in the 25-year-old center. Bitadze has had a career year, averaging 9.4PPG, 8.3RPG, 2APG, 1.7SPG and 0.9BPG in 24.2MPG, all career highs. He has been an incredibly consistent and reliable rock for the Magic, and if they want to win this game, he will likely be one of the main reasons why.

Injury report

Orlando: Gary Harris (thigh) is out, Paolo Banchero (oblique) is out, Moe Wagner (knee) is out, Franz Wagner (oblique) is out

New York: Mitchell Robinson (ankle) is out, Kevin McCullar Jr. (knee) is out

forecast

New York has lost games to the Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks. Orlando beat the Suns, Lakers, Heat and Celtics despite missing numerous players throughout the season. So don’t let the current records or injury report fool you.

The Magic are a very, very solid team that plays incredibly hard and makes their opponents beat them. If the Knicks aren’t careful and downplay the competition, this could very well work to the Magic’s advantage.

Still, it feels like the Knicks have turned things around. Maybe THE corner. But lately they’ve been better. Although their offense has slowed down a bit, they are still going strong Fourth place in the offensive rating in Decemberand their significantly improved defense ranks fifth in the defensive rating of the month. And overall theirs Net valuation is also fourth in the league in December, ahead of competitors like the Celtics and Mavericks.

The Knicks could come out slow, and the Magic could keep the game close with their stingy defense, physicality and toughness. But like against the Raptors and Spurs, I think the Knicks will get enough in the end for their offense to gain the upper hand and come out victorious. Expect the trio of Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns and Brunson to play well again tonight. Bridges posted a tour de force of 41 points against the Spurs and scored 17 or more points in both games against the Magic this season, while both Towns and Brunson also scored 20 or more points in both meetings against Orlando. The Knicks win this game 105-95, extending their winning streak to six.

Game details

New York Knicks (20-10) vs Orlando magic (19-13)

Location: Kia Center, Orlando, FL

Date: Friday, December 27, 2024

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Regard: MSG

Consequences: @ptknicksblog And bsky